YEREVAN, August 4. /ARKA/. Armenia’s interdepartmental commission will soon present for discussion an action plan to implement MONEYVAL recommendations, said Daniel Azatyan, Chairman of the Union of Banks of Armenia, in response to a question from ARKA news agency.
“A work program will be prepared, responsible persons and structures will be identified, after which we will discuss further actions,” Azatyan said at a press conference on Tuesday.
According to him, the commission is chaired by the Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia.
The report of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL), published in July, notes Armenia’s progress in developing its system to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. At the same time, experts noted the need to improve the effectiveness of investigations, criminal prosecutions, and confiscation of criminal assets, as well as strengthen oversight of certain sectors.
Azatyan noted that the Central Bank’s risk-based supervision, anti-money laundering measures, and control mechanisms were positively assessed by the report’s authors.
“Commercial banks demonstrate a high level of understanding of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing and effectively implement a risk-based approach,” he said.
According to the head of the SBA, banks remain the main source of suspicious transaction reports.
He explained that preventive responsibilities in the area of combating money laundering and terrorist financing also rest with notaries, lawyers, insurance and credit institutions, cadastral authorities, and other entities.
“If they identify a suspicious transaction, they must report it to the relevant body—the Financial Monitoring Center of the Central Bank. However, more than 90% of such reports come from banks. “The assessors believe it is necessary to strengthen the knowledge and practical experience of other structures so that they can also more actively submit similar reports,” Azatyan said.
He cited the insufficient number of final court verdicts in money laundering cases as a second problem.
“Even with criminal cases opened, problems persist at the final verdict stage,” the head of the SBA noted.
Following the sixth round of mutual evaluation, Armenia was placed in enhanced follow-up monitoring, which requires regular reporting to MONEYVAL on the implementation of recommendations. The country is required to submit its first progress report within three years. The report on Armenia was approved at the MONEYVAL plenary session in May and published on July 9, 2026.
